The Sekita mountain range, soaring 1000 meters above sea level, straddles Nagano and Niigata Prefectures. Hikers can now walk along it on the "Shin-etsu Trail." It extends along the ridge for distance of 80 kilometers, from Mount Madarao in Nagano Prefecture to Mount Amamizu in Niigata Prefecture. Our travelers will spend five days walking the full distance of the "Shin-etsu Trail". Our guide is a nature writer, Noriyoshi Kato. Kato has walked several long trails in Japan and abroad. (Excerpt)